


I’ve got a bullet for a tooth

by cnroth



Series: When We All Fall Asleep [3]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Mirror Universe, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Assault, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Post-Episode: s07e12 The Emperor's New Cloak, Self-Defense, Stalking, Threats of Violence, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 20:19:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18301259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnroth/pseuds/cnroth
Summary: Ezri Tigan finds it difficult to integrate into a Terran pirate crew when two of the ship’s masters are constantly watching her every move, but she’s not one to go down without a fight.





	I’ve got a bullet for a tooth

Ezri Tigan was being followed.  
  
In the two weeks since she’d joined Captain Janeway’s crew, Ezri had seen Master Engineer Joe Carey outside of engineering at least a dozen times. He was in the corridors, in the mess hall, outside the community head. She didn’t like it.  
  
Carey wasn’t the only one keeping a close eye on her. Master Gunner Cavit was constantly looking over her shoulder when Janeway and Quartermaster Kim weren’t around. Sometimes Ezri thought the captain and her first mate might be the only ones who weren’t hyper-suspicious of her motives.  
  
What had she been thinking joining a Terran pirate crew?

She wasn’t thinking. That was the problem. After losing both her best friend and her lover in one mission, she’d stopped thinking. For about an hour, she’d truly convinced herself she could change, help the resistance, be a better person. Yet when an opportunity came to steal the cloak and escape, she took it without a second thought.

Then her plans blew up, once again, in her face. Janeway offered her a way out, a chance to put her skills to use against the Alliance _and_ make a profit at the same time. It seemed ideal at the time—an entire ship of like-minded people who had no interest in the resistance’s cause yet still wanted to steal Alliance wealth for themselves.

But this was not what she had bargained for.

Janeway insisted the crew would adjust—that they’d have to adjust because she couldn’t afford to be picky about the species of each new crew member anymore—but Ezri doubted her claim. The QM and his partner, Tom, were always kind to her, and she enjoyed spending downtime with them. A handful of others had made an effort to welcome her on board, as well, though she couldn’t always tell if they were being genuine. And sure, whenever the QM and the captain were around, everyone else put on a show of apathy. But when they weren’t around...  
  
Suddenly, every hair on the back of her neck raised, and she realized there were footsteps behind her. But Ezri Tigan refused to be intimidated. Her heart raced and sweat broke out on her palms, yet she lifted her chin and kept on walking.

Maybe it was nothing. Even if someone was tailing her, they probably wouldn’t strike. As far as Ezri knew, she was still under the captain’s protection. Harming her would risk Janeway’s wrath, and if there was one thing she’d learned from observing the crew, it was that they all feared Janeway’s wrath.

Unless Janeway wanted her followed.  
  
Ezri stopped in front of the hatch to an access tunnel where the QM had sent her to upgrade some circuit boards. She took the opportunity to sneak a glance over her shoulder, but no one was there. Shaking her head, she entered her security code, set her toolbox on the narrow aisle, and crawled inside.  
  
She’d only made it a few paces when someone else crawled in after her.  
  
“Who the f—“  
  
Hands gripped her leg and yanked her off-balance, landing Ezri flat on her stomach. She scrambled to get purchase, to get away, but she was dragged backwards. The hands grabbed her hips and flipped her over.  
  
Joe Carey hovered above her, his knees on either side of her body, one hand trapping her wrists above her head and the other arm resting against her throat. He sat on her legs, pinning her to the floor. “You made me look like an idiot.”  
  
“What?” Ezri said. “When?”  
  
“Yesterday in the meeting with the QM.”  
  
The panic receded just enough for Ezri to think back to the day before. She forced her terror down, looked the engineer in the eyes, and laughed. “Oh, that. Well, I can’t help it if you’re an idiot.”  
  
He put more weight on his arm, almost cutting off her air entirely. “It’s bad enough he favors a damn Trill over his own kind, but to act like you’re some kind of fucking genius just pisses me off.”  
  
She struggled to breathe. “Maybe... I am... a genius.”  
  
“You’re a goddamn child,” Carey snarled, lowering his face to hers. “An alien. And you don’t belong here.”  
  
“What do you... want me... to do... about it?”  
  
“I want you to leave.”

“I’m not... going anywhere... Joe Carey.”  
  
“I’m gonna make you regret th—“  
  
Ezri flicked her tongue over Carey’s nose, and he recoiled.  
  
“What the—“  
  
Yanking her hands free, she shoved him hard in the chest. The force nearly knocked him backwards, though it didn’t dislodge him from her legs.  
  
No matter. She only needed to buy a second or two so she could grab her knife.  
  
“You fucking bitch!” Carey shouted, catching himself between the narrow walls. His face was flushed with rage as he looked down at her. “I’m gonna fuck you up so bad—“  
  
Ezri shoved the knife up between his ribs, sinking right into his heart. “No, Joe. I’m gonna fuck you up, you creepy old dickwad.” She twisted the blade, jerked it to the side, and yanked it back out.  
  
He yelped, the sharp sound bouncing around the tunnel and twinging Ezri’s ears. A rush of blood surged out, splashing on Ezri’s clothes and drenching Carey’s shirt. His eyes were wide with shock, tracking from her face to the gaping entry wound just below his heart. He touched a hand to it, coating his fingers with blood. “Fuck,” he muttered.  
  
Then he collapsed on top of her.  
  
There was just barely enough space for her to push him partway off, and she wriggled free. Warm, sticky blood covered her entire front, and she cursed at Carey for ruining her favorite jacket. She crawled to the nearest computer interface, tapped on com controls, and called the QM’s station.  
  
“Kim here,” Harry responded.  
  
“I’m gonna need a bit more time on that upgrade you wanted me to do. And I’m also gonna need a clean-up crew. Sir.”  
  
Harry sighed. “What did you do?”  
  
Ezri scratched her head. “Oh, you know, just had to stab a guy who attacked me in the access tube.”  
  
There was a pause on the channel. “Shit.”  
  
“Yeah. So, um, about that clean-up crew. It fuckin’ smells in here.”  
  
“Right. I’ll send a crew now. And don’t go anywhere. I’m coming to you.”  
  
Ezri glanced at Carey’s corpse, blood still pooling beneath him and spreading across the crawl space. “Can I at least move to the nearest juncture?”  
  
“Of course. I’ll be right there. Just stay put.”  
  
“Aye, sir,” she said and dropped the com.

* * *

Captain Janeway leaned back against her desk and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You murdered my master engineer.”  
  
“In all fairness, he attacked me first. He said he was gonna fuck me up, but I’m pretty sure he wanted to kill me.”  
  
“And there were no witnesses?”  
  
“No, ma’am,” Harry said, stepping forward. “But he did seem pretty upset after she showed him up in our divisional meeting yesterday. And you know as well as I do that the crew still hasn’t warmed up to her.”  
  
Ezri scoffed. “That’s the understatement of the century.”  
  
Harry shot her a scolding look for speaking out of turn, but Janeway dropped her hand and cocked her head to the side. “Have you been harassed by others in my crew, opsmate?”  
  
“Some. Most of the crew just give me ugly looks and avoid me whenever possible, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had a problem with Carey. He’s been following me all over the ship since I got here. And he hasn’t been the only one.”  
  
Janeway crossed her arms. “Who else?”  
  
Ezri bit her lip.  
  
Harry put a hand on her shoulder. “You can tell her, Ezri.”  
  
She sighed. “Alright. It’s Master Gunner Cavit. He hasn’t actually attacked me yet, but he’s definitely keeping a closer eye on me than I’d like. And there was one time, a few days ago, while you and Quartermaster Kim were in conference. Helmsman Paris went to the head and the gunner—“ Her throat tensed, but she cleared it and continued. “He came up behind me at my station, grabbed my ass, and said, ‘You’d better not be doing anything bad, Trill.’ But I was just monitoring sensors and coms like the QM told me to.”  
  
Harry made a disgusted sound.

Janeway hummed, her eyes trained on Ezri’s. “Thank you for telling me, opsmate. I’ll have a word with Master Cavit. As for Mister Carey... you’ve cost me my best engineer, but if I’d been in your place, I would have done the exact same thing.” She shifted her gaze to Harry. “Recycle the body. It’s about the only thing he’s worth to us now. And if scuttlebutt gets around about what happened, make sure it’s accurate enough to get the right point across.” She smiled at Ezri. “They should know that you have teeth.”  
  
Ezri’s lips curled up. Perhaps Janeway was on her side after all. “Thank you, Captain.”  
  
“And one more thing.” Janeway dropped her arms and strode towards Ezri. She placed a hand on Ezri’s shoulder and leaned close to her ear. “If Cavit gives you any more trouble, don’t hesitate to use those teeth on him.”


End file.
